PS: The US taxpayer currently subsidises religions -- including Christianity -- in the amount of 71 billion dollars per year:

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=fi&page=cragun_32_4

That doesn't sound like 'persecution' to me.

WmTrevor et al,
The Science Show is not to be confused with journalism either, but that doesn't stop people criticising it for topical/political bias.
Everything's political and Doogue, in my opinion, is an apologist for the Liberal-consumer State. She commodifies institutional verities. They all do, more or less, she just does it with polish. I was trying to make the point above that just as the Catholic church "frames her identity", so do the other institutions she cleaves to. What then are her intellectual credentials? What room for critical thinking? Doogue is entitled to her views, I'm just concerned that she wields, and uses, wittingly or unwittingly, her influence and aplomb (which, as here, is more hyperbole than substance).
I also suggested above that "rarely does a radical voice receive a earnest hearing", at the ABC in general. I was thinking here of an interview between the late Alan Saunders and Slavoj Zizek on the Philosopher's Zone, during which the former laughed all the way through, sending a clear message that he wasn't to be taken seriously.
Surely people realise that the media is often the message, and that the pre-masticated, institutional thinking (non-thinking) we consume is rarely subjected to scrutiny?

Unfortunately, am too busy to go on just now.

Hi, Why I'm Still a Lapsed Catholic is captured in a new book - BEFORE THE DELUSION by Wm Gleeson, recently published in UK. The cover looks a little Dan Brownish but it actually contains impressive research of pre-Christian history - with a very novel perspective on some 'mysteries' of the early Church. It's heretical of course, but a coherent and plausible story. Explains and challenges early dogma.

Saltpetre - the very first thing that happens when the Living Process that is death begins is that ALL of your consoling religious beliefs about life and especially death get ripped off instantaneously - guaranteed.

In fact all of the usual naive Christian consoling beliefs about death actually prevent one from really investigating and thus becoming fully informed about and understanding the ALL important topic of death, of what happens when you die, and thus of consciously participating in the death and dying process.

Meanwhile, despite my criticisms of Geraldine's naive religiosity I have always found her various programs to be very good. She is one of the best in the business.

By the way I don't listen to the radio or watch TV.

The institutional "catholic" church as represented by the pope, the vatican, the cardinals and the bishops should always be subject to sustained criticism because of the nature of the claims it/they make about themselves - claims which are intrinsically offensive to all
non-"catholics", especially those that belong to other Faith traditions, and even liberal or progressive Christians, including liberal or progressive "catholics".
1. the "catholic" church is the "body of christ" and that it is thus
going the "work of 'christ'" in the world, and for the "glory of
god" - claims which are completely laughable - the evidence being
the mountains of human corpses "created" by the institutional
agents of the church, even by the popes themselves
2. the pope as the now infallible "vicar of Christ" - a claim which
is laughable - Jesus of course was NOT even a christian
3. the "catholic" church is THE ONLY source of truth in the world,
which thus has a claim on, and the right to rule ALL of humankind -
claim which is both laughable and even more, TOTALITARIAN in its
intent - a claim which is completely and dangerously false.
4. that the current pope is THE key for reviving the spiritual
heritage and thus the culture of the West - this claim is made by
most/all right-wing "catholic" propaganda hacks.Even via the ABC
Ethics website which is now controlled and edited by a right-wing
"catholic".
5. that the current pope and thus the church which he has stacked with
his misogynist right-wing "traditionalist" cronies is the ONLY
bastion against the alleged scourge or relativism in the Western -
a claim which is completely laughable (especially if anyone does
their homework)

"Why am I still a Catholic? How should I answer this important question? In truth, sometimes I'm not sure why"

I used to be accepting of peoples "beliefs", why ? because I was told that's what you did. However, the question posed is much like "why do I still believe in Father Christmas". One can't take much of what anyone says after that seriously.

No I am not mocking, would you mock a stranger that came up to you and said they still believed a fairytale ? Incredulous, sure... worried for their mental health, sure but definitely not mocking.

and the ONLY reason I ever bother to get into the "debate" (I am never going to convince anyone if they have "faith" Father Christmas exists, so it's not really a debate per se) is we have the insidious evil of groups like Family First, the ACL and any number of Cardinals and Imam's trying to foist there pernicious moral agenda upon everyone.